My life in music ...

Since the beginning, my journey has been a continuing  combination of faith, determination, sacrifice and hard work. There were many pivotal, supportive people that helped me along the way and for them, my appreciation runs deep!

With all the blessings and challenges, I'm ultimately filled with a sense of gratitude, inspiration and satisfaction for all that's been and all that's yet to come.

 

First impressions ..

As a young boy there was an interesting array of sounds, filling my ears and echoing through the household. My home life was turbulent but things seemed better when music was playing. My dear sweet Mother was Italian and a graphic artist and my stern Father, was Irish and a high school basketball star, Marine Sergeant and Korean War Veteran. When the radio was on, it was Bay Area stations KFRC and KYA playing all the popular bubble gum hits of the the early 70's and before. They would also listen to singers and soundtracks such as Bing Crosby, Judy Garland, Dean Martin, Paint Your Wagon, Fiddler On The Roof, The Sound of Music, To Sir With Love, Singing In The Rain and the Lawrence Welk show. And then there were  TV shows like American Bandstand, Hee Haw, The Partridge Family and Soul Train. And also, the constant weekly church hymns.

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Early inspiration ...

As a shy kid my fascination with music and guitar would soon dominate my luv of basketball. After acquiring my first few pieces of vinyl, they received endless spins on my suitcase record player. They were KTEL's 'Believe in Music', a 45 of Neil Young's 'Heart of Gold', Elton John's 'Greatest Hits' and Chicago IX 'Greatest Hits'. These were all such amazing examples of great songwriting and melody. That KTEL record was a stellar collection of songs with 'Brandy' (Looking Glass), 'Go All The Way' (The Raspberries), 'Let It Rain' (Derek and the Dominoes), 'Long Cool Woman' (The Hollies), 'Hold Your Head Up' (Argent), 'Summer Breeze' (Seals and Crofts) and 'Backstabbers' (The O'Jays).  Then came songs like  'I Never Cry' (Alice Cooper),  'I Feel Like A Bullet In The Gun Of Robert Ford' (Elton John) and 'All By Myself' (Eric Carmen) to name a few. It is now obvious that I've always been fond of a deep, moody ballad. And even though I was still relatively new to this magical world, it was crystal clear to me that the power of music was in the strength of a great song! At home my brother Kevin was turning me onto Prog Rock albums like Yes 'Fragile' & 'Going For The One', Queen 'A Night at the Opera' & 'Jazz', Heart's 'Little Queen' and Genesis 'Lamb Lies Down On Broadway'. And in the other room was brother James getting out his aggressions on the sounds of ZZ Top;s 'Fandango' and Foghat 'Live'. Foghat guitar wizard Mr. Rod Price was without question my first huge slide guitar influence. During this time, the inspiration seemed to be endless, coming from every direction. I've often said to my music students, it doesn't matter where inspiration come from as long as it comes. It's safe to say that by this point in the journey, there was no chance of turning back as the trajectory was firmly set in motion and moving at light speed!

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A mind-blowing day ...

I was soon gifted a full day of music education in my neighborhood friends psychedelic garage. As I looked around mesmerized by the lava lamps and black light posters, they exposed me to an earful of serious rock albums from the 70's. Led Zeppelin 'II', Pink Floyd 'Dark Side Of The Moon', Montrose (debut), Boston (debut), Journey 'Look Into the Future', Black Sabbath 'Masters of Reality', Ted Nugent (debut), Jethro Tull 'Aqualung, Derringer (debut) and Lynyrd Skynyrd 'Pronounced'. I realized that day just how powerful it was to hear an album from front to back in the intended song sequence providing the ultimate listening experience! And also that the moniker 'Rock'n'Roll' could mean many things from loud electric guitars, to female singers, to gigantic drums, to flutes, strings and mandolins. This offered me the best possible experience that a young kid could have, there were absolutely no boundaries!

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A life changing moment ...

Just a couple of weeks later, that same neighborhood friend Bob Auen came up to me and held up the album cover of Kiss  'Alive' right in my face. He shouted 'I'm going to see these guys tonight in concert'! That image launched me in to the stratosphere was and from that moment on it was game over for me!  Seeing that iconic photo was absolutely life changing and my desire to be in a band and get on stage was now the mission. The idea of Rock stardom was now implanted in my head! The funny thing was, I was 100% aware at that time, that the race was on and a lifetime to make it happen may not be enough time.

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The guitar in the house ...

I don't remember how but my oldest brother Kevin acquired a nylon string acoustic with strings so high off the neck you could slide your whole hand underneath them. I was made clear that I was not to touch it. Yeah good luck on that one. The guitar was virtually impossible to play but there was no way he could keep me away from it. He gave me some guidance and got me started with a few chords and riffs. Them he also got an imitation Gibson Les Paul Special and I was thinking WTF, how the heck are you getting these things. It was an awesome axe! Fortunately for both of us, it wasn't long before my Mother took me guitar shopping at Montgomery Ward's department store in Oakland, Ca where I got my very own guitar, a 'Global' Les Paul style electric guitar for $67. My inspiration soared and I practiced fiercely! Crushingly, this wonderful Guitar was stolen a month or two later out of my good friend's garage by a neighborhood thug that I didn't even know. It was never to be seen again. There's no doubt I would still own that guitar today if it hadn't been taken from me. The good thing that came out of all this was me getting my replacement which was an amazing Ibanez Tobacco Sunburst 'Iceman' which ultimately led me to my longtime relationship with the legendary Ibanez guitar company!

 

A magical time for an aspiring young guitarist ...

The music of the 70's was filled with so many great bands and players to listen to and absorb, and aside from basketball, this was  the only real thing of interest to me. Anyone in either game was an ally or a competitor and this surely instilled the competitive seeds inside me. Growing up on the island of Alameda, Ca was a special place and there were countless, young aspiring guitarists and musicians in my neighborhood. It seemed as if every other house on every block in town was home to a maestro in the making. There was Jim Stewart on his porch demonstrating the intro to 'Wish You Were Here' on his 'Memphis' dbl cutaway, Craig Brakebush in his basement playing the solo for Pink Floyd's 'Money' on his Black Fender Strat and Tim Hill jamming at the Vlasco's house near the infamous 'Jackson Park' (where the pot dealers gathered) playing UFO's 'Mother Mary' on his Gibson Flying V. There was John Cruz (RIP) and Eddie Fontaine of 'Rockbound'. I remember John teaching me how to play Rush's '2112' in his living room on Liberty St and Eddies otherworldly performance of Van Halen's 'Eruption' and UFO's 'Rock Bottom' at their gig in the majestic 'Lincoln Park' on High St. These were all mesmerizing and impactful moments adding vital fuel to the fire that was brewing in me.

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Early jams ...

While on my journey dreaming of becoming a certified guitar slinger, I came to meet my first real music partner in drummer Joey Frye (RIP). Joey was such a sweet, outgoing and charismatic guy with massive talent! There were many jam sessions and good times had in his basement. We lit each others fire and it was without question the very first musical interaction that allowed me to fully experience musical chemistry! It was the reference point for how good playing music could feel, and it helped me to visualize and launch my pathway forward. While our friendship was strong, I can't recall why our musical path didn't continue on for longer, but I know it would have amounted to something very, very special and in retrospect, the experience with him was integral in shaping my earliest musical impressions going forward.

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The first gig ...

With humble beginnings, at age twelve I played my debut live performance with the band 'Open Current' at Lincoln School in Alameda, Ca. on the outside Ampitheatre stage. The band consisted of band leader/guitarist Steve 'Sky' Clems, vocalist Scott Rowley, 'Jimmi Ward' (guitarist now turned bassist) and drummer Keith Davis. Yes, three guitars and no bassist. Regardless we enjoyed ourselves and the rush of entertaining a real rocking crowd! Jimmi and I were and still are the closest of friends and in our off time we absorbed as much music as we could. Many fun hours were spent practicing riffs on Jimmi's infamous Kingston EKO guitar (aka 'Flying U'). We channeled our most innocent musical aspirations while planting our musical garden. We fed our fierce musical appetite with passion, desire and rebellion.